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The Uniuersity of north Carolina at Hsheuille
Uolume 32 Issue 4
September21,2000
Brewfest celebrates
microbrews and
bluegrass on Sept. 15
See page 4
Women's volleyball
finishes second
in tournament
See page 7
A commentary on the
reputation of the Greek
system by Josh Day
See page 2
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Rathbum guilty of assault
Kay Alton
Staff Writer
Darrell Rathburn, former
UNCA public safety officer and
Woodfin police chief, received a
guilty j ury verdict on seven out of
eight counts of assault and illegal
possession of a firearm on May
10, 2000, according to a May 11
Asheville-Citizen Times article.
“A sentencing date has not been
set in the Rathburn case,” said the
office of the clerk of the U.S.
District Court.
Rathburn may receive no active
prison sentence and no fine, or
the maximum sentence of 10 years
in prison with a fine of $250,000
for each count, which could equal
70 years in prison and a
$1,750,000 fine, according to the
article.
“The probation office does an
extensive background assessment
before a sentencing date can be
set, and this assessment generally
takes several months,” said the
clerk’s office.
Jurors in the civil rights case
found Rathburn guilty of violat
ing the civil rights of six citizens
who testified that as police chief
from 1995 to 1996, Rathburn
choked, kicked, punched and
pushed them during arrests or
interrogation, according to the
article.
Another separate count, accord
ing to a Oct. 6, 1999 federal in
dictment, was having illegally
possessed a firearm after convic
tion of a domestic misdemeanor
crime.
The U.S. Attorney’s office and
Rathburn’s attorney, Tom Man-
PHOTO BY JASON GRAHAM
Darrell Rathburn, former public safety officer and Woodfin chief of police, was found
guilty of assault and illegal possession of a firearm.
ning, said that sentencing guide
lines usually call for between four
and five years in prison, according
to the article.
Rathburn testified in the trial
that he never used excessive force
on any citizen. He also said the
former and current Woodfin po
lice officers who testified in the
trail did not like his style of dedi
cated “by-the-book” police work,
were all best friends and did not
like him, according to the article.
Manning classified the suspects
in this civil rights case as thieves,
drunks and thugs who did not like
being arrested, according to the
article.
Jurors returned their guilty ver
dict on seven of the eight counts
after two and a half hours of delib
eration, according to the article.
Rathburn resigned as Woodfin’s
police chief in Nov. 1998, and he
became a public safety officer at
UNCA, a position from which he
was suspended after his indict
ment on Oct. 25, 1999.
Subsequently, Rathburn was
separated from UNCA’s employ
on Nov. 8, 1999. He was later
employed at Asheville-Buncombe
Technical Community College;
however, he also left that job.
Merianne Epstein, director of
public information, said there were
no complaints against Rathburn
while he worked at UNCA, ac
cording to an Oct. 28, 1999 Blue
Banner article.
Rathburn’s UNCA background
check conducted by public safety
was done in conjunction with the
N.C. criminal justice training stan-
See OFFICER page 11
Safety director search continues
PHOTO BY SARAH LAC\
Louis Caliendo, a candidate for director of public safety
and UNCA alumnus, holds a discussion with students on
Sept. 12.
Rachel Grumpier
Staff Writer
UNCA is currently searching for a
new director of public safety. The
search committee, comprised of five
UNCA staff members and two stu
dents, has spent the last week inter
viewing three candidates: Louis
Caliendo, Patrick Meyers and
Marshall Bosley.
“I think (all the candidates) are
qualified,” said Merianne Epstein,
director of public information and
member of the search committee.
“They all have an interest at being
the best at what they do, have a
record of working well with other
members of public safety and other
people in the campus community
and have all done campus public
safety work (before).”
The search committee began to
advertise nationally for a new direc
tor this summer after Dennis Gre
gory, the current director of public
safety, announced that he would
retire. According to Epstein, the
committee received approximately
60 applications, which they even
tually narrowed to the three candi
dates they interviewed from Sept.
12-19.
“We were looking specifically for
someone who would work the best
on our campus,” said Epstein. “We
looked at who showed leadership
capacity, flexibility and understand
ing. We want them to have a good
education and relate well on a di
verse campus.”
Gregory said the director of pub
lic safety position entails looking
out for the campus community by
monitoring the parking services,
police department and security de
partment.
“Basically, public safety is respon
sible for the safety and welfare of
the campus community, including
the students, faculty, staff and
guests,” said Gregory. “This office
is responsible for parking services,
for the police division and the secu
rity division of the department.”
Candidate and UNCA alumnus
Caliendo said that he wants to
bridge the gap between students
and public safety officers. Once stu
dents trust the officers, they will be
more likely to confront officers with
their problems.
“Being a graduate from UNCA, I
know what students expect from
public safety, and I know my job
within the public safety office,” said
Caliendo. “I think I can work with
both sides to bridge the gap be
tween the two.
“I want the students to know the
officers as people (and) as friends,”
See DIRECTOR page 10
Biking brings
issues to U.S.
Justin Wolf
Staff Writer
Two UNCA representatives will
participate in Girls on the Move, a
3,865 mile cross-country bicycling
expedition that raises awareness of
issues important to girls and women.
“It is a wonderful program for
women like me to promote our
selves as mentors
to the young
girls,” said
Karen
Chapman, a stu
dent library as
sistant. “It is
great that we can
promote such
things as nutri
tion, being
physically fit
and leading a
healthy life.”
Chapman and
Meg Turner, as
sistant director
of special aca
demic pro
grams, will be
stage riders, who
participate for
two, or three
weeks at a time.
“I am just re
ally excited to be
part of a national project to support
and empower women,” saidTurner.
“I am honored to be representing
UNCA.”
A team of 22 core riders will make
the entire 10-week journey. In sev
eral instances, celebrities and com
munity members will join the ride
when it passes through their area,
according to Ralph Lauren Girls, a
sponsor of the event.
“I am glad to be sharing the expe-
Meg Turner, assistant direc
tor of special academic
programs, will be a stage
rider for the event.
riences I have with others,” said
Turner.
Turner will be riding from Chi
cago, 111. to New York City, N.Y.
from Oct. 20 to Nov, 17. Chapman,
along with four other Asheville
women, will be riding 1,421 miles
from Denver, Colo, to Chicago, 111.
from Oct. 8 to Oct. 28.
“This is the first time that I have
ever done anything like this, but I
am sure it will not be the last,” said
Chapman. “1 am a commuter bicy
clist anyway, so
this is just push
ing me further
into it. I am get
ting addicted to
it.”
Girls on the
Move was cre
ated by Out
ward Bound,
the largest non
profit adven-
ture-based edu
cational organi
zation in the
world. The
concept for this
event came
from a group of
instructors who
witnessed posi
tive shifts in
girls’ percep
tions of them
selves after fin
ishing past
Outward Bound programs, accord
ing to their press release.
“Girls deserve to be celebrated and
need role models to help them grow
into strong and confident women,”
said Sara Schoolwerth, an Outward
Bound employee. “I was at the
Women’s Conference when Girls
See BIKE page 11
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED
BY MEG TURNER
UNCA to give
Liberia books
Annie Grandall
Staff Writer
Ann Weber, professor of psychol
ogy, is coordinating a book drive to
donate reading material to help re
build a library system in Liberia.
“They have nothing,” said We
ber. “They will accept any reading
material, books for children, maga
zines, encyclopedias, romance nov
els, fiction, non-fiction, absolutely
anything that can be read.”
Through the help of her neigh
bor, Deb Hart, a UNCA alumnus,
Weber initiated a drive for books
and magazines on campus. Hart
currently works for the N.C. State
Department, and Hart contacted
Weber after working for some time
in Monrovia, the capital of Liberia.
“The civil war that ended just a
couple years ago wiped out, among
other things, the library. It de-
streyed the limited education pos
sibilities that they had and devas
tated the country,” said Hart ac
cording to Weber.
This led to the idea of drop-off
sites for donations, which are lo
cated throughout the campus. The
main collection point is at the rear
entrance of Ramsey Library at the
doors marked “Books for Liberia.”
“There is at least one collection
box in every building and one on
almost ever)' floor,” said Weber.
The first book drive for Liberia
was a huge success, according to
Weber. In early 1999, the books
were shipped to the University of
Liberia, a
:hool at
Monrovia, and several elementary
schools in Liberia.
In the first book drive, the library
staff donated space for the books to
be stored, helped box them, then
helped load them into Hart’s car
and trailer to be taken to Washing
ton, D.C.
The State Department arranged
for the boxes of books to be shipped
to the American Embassy in Liberia.
From there, university students and
See WEBER page 10
V